Tag Archives: The Low Spark of Organized Joy

Spark Joy: an illustrated master class on the art of organizing and tidying up by Marie Kondo (Ten Speed Press, $18.99, 291 pages)

It’s Time to Pick It Up and Put It Away

Are you ready? Here’s part deux of Marie Kondo’s worldwide take on tidying up. You’d have to have been living off the grid not to have heard about Ms. Kondo’s methods for living a comfortable, streamlined life surrounded only by the items that bring you joy.

Spark Joy is a handbook, literally. The volume is small enough to carry with you while working through the steps outlined and illustrated to bring peace to the unruly spaces in our homes. Book one, The Life- Changing Magic of Tidying Up, focused on the philosophy that Ms. Kondo has honed and practiced since she was a pre-teen in Japan. Spark Joy puts method to the magic.

Yes, this subject, clearing out the clutter, has been around for at least a decade on TV shows and in books. No, Ms. Kondo’s readers are not encouraged to get rid of anything that’s not in use daily. Rather, we are advised to surround ourselves with the things that are useful and joyful for us, not what others consider to be appropriate to have in our closets and rooms.

This book is well written and easy to understand. There’s no awkwardness in the translation from Ms. Kondo’s native language, Japanese, into English. I extend Kudos to Cathy Hirano, the translator of Spark Joy.